One of the greatest chapters of Terry Francona’s life story is now being retooled as a cautionary tale about how things have a way of going horribly wrong in baseball’s postseason.
We speak, of course, of the 2004 American League Championship Series. Francona was in his first season as manager of the Red Sox, who were on the cusp of being swept out of the ALCS by the Yankees
Remember?
But the Red Sox did roar back to win four straight games, claiming their first American League pennant since 1986. And they did sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series for their first World Series championship since 1918.